Comparison of intramedullary nail and plate fixation

ORIGIN A L A R T IC L E
Comparison of intramedullary nail and plate fixation in
distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the mortise
Umut Yavuz, M.D., Sami Sökücü, M.D., Bilal Demir, M.D.,
Timur Yıldırım, M.D., Çağrı Özcan, M.D., Yavuz Selim Kabukçuoğlu, M.D.
Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, MS Baltalimani Bone Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to compare the functional and radiological results of intramedullary nailing and plate fixation techniques in the surgical treatment of distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the ankle joint.
METHODS: Between 2005 and 2011, 55 patients (32 males, 23 females; mean age 42 years; range 15 to 72 years) who were treated
with intramedullary nailing (21 patients) or plate fixation (34 patients) due to distal tibia diaphyseal fracture were included in the study.
The average follow-up period was 27.6 months (range, 12-82 months). The patients were evaluated with regard to nonunion, malunion,
infection, and implant irritation. The AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) scale was used for the clinical evaluation.
RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found between the two surgical methods with respect to unification time, AOFAS score, accompanying fibula fracture, material irritation, and malunion. Nine patients had open fractures, and these patients were
treated with plate fixation (p=0.100). Nonunion developed in three patients who were treated with plates. Infection occurred in one
patient. Anterior knee pain was significantly higher in patients who were treated with intramedullary nails. There was no malunion in
any patient.
CONCLUSION: As the distal fragment is not long enough, plate fixation technique is usually preferred in the treatment of distal
tibia diaphyseal fractures. In this study, we observed that if the surgical guidelines are followed carefully, intramedullary nailing is an appropriate technique in this kind of fracture. The malunion rates are not significantly increased, and it also has the advantages of being
a minimally invasive surgery with fewer wound problems.
Key words: AOFAS; distal tibia fracture; intramedullary nail; plate.
INTRODUCTION
Surgical treatment of displaced distal tibia fractures provides
appropriate alignment and stability as well as protection of
bone and surrounding soft tissues. It also allows early mobilization of nearby joints. Intramedullary nailing and plate
fixation have been accepted as two effective options in the
surgical treatment. Intramedullary nailing has been accepted
as the standard treatment in displaced tibia shaft fractures.
However, it is difficult to achieve alignment with intramedullary fixation in proximal and distal shaft fractures, which leads
to increasing rates of malalignment.[1-3] There are also publiAddress for correspondence: Umut Yavuz, M.D.
Baltalimanı Kemik Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi,
Rumelihisarı Caddesi, No: 62, Sarıyer, İstanbul, Turkey
Tel: +90 212 - 323 70 75 E-mail: umut78@yahoo.com
Qucik Response Code
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg
2014;20(3):189-193
doi: 10.5505/tjtes.2014.92972
Copyright 2014
TJTES
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg, May 2014, Vol. 20, No. 3
cations reporting higher rates of anterior knee pain occurring after nailing.[4-6] Although plate fixation is preferred more
in distal tibia fractures close to the joint, infection, wound
problems and implant-related problems are more common in
patients treated with plate.[1,2,7,8]
In this study, we aimed to compare the functional and radiographic results of distal tibia shaft fractures treated with plate
fixation or intramedullary nail.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fifty-five patients (32 males, 23 females) who presented to
our hospital with distal tibia shaft fractures and underwent
surgical treatment were evaluated retrospectively between
2005 and 2011. The mean follow-up period was 27.6 months
(range, 12-82 months). The mean age of the patients was 42
years (range, 15-72 years). Twenty-one (38%) patients were
treated with intramedullary nailing technique and 34 (62%)
were treated with plate fixation. Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) staging was performed before the surgery in
all patients. Patients were evaluated with respect to age, time
to surgery, fracture type, sagittal and coronal alignment, AO189
Yavuz et al. Comparison of intramedullary nail and plate fixation in distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the mortise
FAS hindfoot-ankle score, infection, anterior knee pain, and
implant problems. Patients with fractures in the proximal metaphyseal tibia, distal tibia fractures extending into the joint
line, knee ligament injury, fractures with soft tissue coverage,
fractures with vascular injury, and pathological fractures were
excluded from the study.
Statistical analysis was made using a computer software program, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
ver. 13. For parametric measurements, Mann-Whitney U test
was used, and for non-parametric measurements, chi-square
test was used. A value of p<0.05 was accepted to indicate
statistical significance.
A transpatellar approach was preferred for intramedullary
nailing. After intramedullary reaming, a nail of appropriate
diameter was used. Open reduction was not applied in any
of the patients. As the fracture was too distal, two parallel
locking screws were inserted in the distal side of the nail. A
medial longitudinal approach was used on the medial malleolus for plate fixation. Stainless steel or titanium plates
were implanted. Intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis was used
pre- and postoperatively for three days, and first-generation
cephalosporin was preferred.
RESULTS
The measurements were taken from radiographs obtained in
the pre-operative, early postoperative and the last follow-up
periods. The distance from the distal-most point of the fracture line to the ankle joint was measured in millimeters. The
fracture was accepted as unified if unification was observed
in at least three planes. If unification was not observed at the
end of the sixth month, it was accepted as non-union. The
criteria for malunion were angulation of more than 5° and
translation of more than 5 millimeters.
The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS)
foot and ankle scoring system was used to evaluate the clinical results related with the ankle joint.
Table 1.
Fifty-five patients with distal tibia fractures who were treated
with intramedullary nailing or plate fixation were evaluated.
The mean age was 42 years (range, 15-72 years). According
to the OTA classification, 33 (60%) patients were classified as
42-A1, 11 (20%) as 42-A2 and 11 (20%) as 42-A3. The patient
groups were homogeneous with regard to age, gender and
fracture classification.
Nine of the patients had an open fracture. According to
Gustilo-Anderson classification, 7 patients were type 1 and
2 patients were type 2; none of the patients was type 3. Six
of the patients were treated by plate fixation and three by
intramedullary nailing.
The mean distance between the joint and fracture line was
72.9 mm (range, 42-89 mm) in the patients treated by intramedullary nailing and 56.5 mm (range 33-90 mm) in the
patients treated by plate fixation. The two groups were considered statistically homogeneous (p=0.188).
The mean time to surgery was 4.5 days (range, 1-15 days)
in the patients treated by intramedullary nailing and 4.8 days
Demographic data of the patients
Nail PlateTotal
N
Male 13
%
N
23.6
19
%
34.6
N
%
32
58.2
Female 8
14.5
15
27.3
23
41.8
Age (range)
38
17-67
44
15-72
42
15-72
Follow-up (months)
27
12-82
27.9
12-78
27.6
12-82
47
85.6
5
9
OTA classification
42-A
18
32.8
29
52.8
42-B
2
3.6
3
5.4 42-C
1
1.8
2
3.6
3
5.4
72.9
42-89
56.5
33-90
62.7
33-90
Open fracture
3
5.4
6
10.8
9
16.2
Fibula fracture
14
25.4
26
47.3
40
72.7
Fibula fixation
3
5.4
12
21.8
15
27.2
4.5
1-15
4.8
1-17
4.7
1-17
Mean distance to
mortise (mm) (range)
Time to operation (day)
OTA: Orthopaedic Trauma Association.
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Yavuz et al. Comparison of intramedullary nail and plate fixation in distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the mortise
Table 2. Findings at the final follow-up and the statistical comparison
Nail
Union time (months)
AOFAS Plate
Total
p
4.9
5.5
5.3
0.894
88.3 (71-96)
88.1 (55-100)
88.2 (55-100)
0.794
Infection
0
3 (%5.4)
3 (%5.4)
0.100
Nonunion 0
3 (%5.4)
3 (%5.4)
0.100
Malunion (Degree) Valgus 0.84 (0-3.8)
1.67 (0-8.3)
1.36 (0-8.3)
0.484
Varus 1 (0-4.2)
1.31 (0-8)
1.19 (0-8)
0.977
Recurvatum 0.7 (0-6.7)
1.13 (0-10)
0.97 (0-10)
0.450
Procurvatum 0.71 (0-5)
0.84 (0-5.6)
0.79 (0-5.6)
0.846
Material irritation
7 (%12.7)
14 (%25.4)
21 (%38.1) 0.211
Anterior knee pain
14 (%25.4)
0
14 (%25.4)
0.001
(range, 1-17 days) in those treated by plate fixation, and there
was no significant difference between the groups (p=0.760).
The mean union time was 5.3 months (2-12 months) for all
patients, 4.9 months for the intramedullary nailing group, and
5.5 months for the plate fixation group, and there was no
significant difference between the groups (p=0.894).
plate fixation group. In one patient, deep venous thromboembolism developed three months after the treatment. In four
patients, unification delay occurred, and they were treated
with open reduction and plate fixation (p=0.010). In one, autografting derived from the iliac crest was performed, and
unification was observed one year later.
The AOFAS scoring system was used to evaluate ankle arthritis. The mean AOFAS score was 87.8 (range, 55-100). It
was 88.3 (range, 71-96) in patients treated by intramedullary
nailing and 87.5 (range, 59-100) in patients treated by plate
fixation, and there was no significant difference between the
groups (p=0.794). Forty of the patients had an accompanying
fibula fracture. In 15 of them, the fibular fracture was fixed
surgically. Three of them were in the intramedullary nailing
group and 12 were in the plate fixation group. There was no
significant difference between the patients who did or did
not undergo fibular fixation with regard to AOFAS scores
(p=0.800). Fibular fixation was applied more often in the
Closed reduction was performed in all patients treated by
intramedullary nailing, and open reduction was required in
nine of the patients treated by plate fixation. In three of
them, there was a delay in unification. One developed infection, considered to be nosocomial. As debridement was performed but deemed insufficient, the implants were extracted,
and external fixation was performed. At the end of the 20th
postoperative month, the infection persisted. Two other patients had an AOFAS score of 76.5 and are able to walk with
support. Although nonunion was observed radiologically, the
patients refused surgery.
(a)
(b)
Figure 1. (a) Preoperative radiographs of a 35-year-old male patient with right distal diaphyseal tibia fracture extending to the metaphysis, resulting from a fall. (b) Radiographs
of the patient in the first year of follow-up, after intramedullary nailing.
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg, May 2014, Vol. 20, No. 3
Malunion was determined in 13 patients.
Two of them were treated by intramedullary nailing and 11 by plate fixation. None
of the patients demonstrated malunion
with more than 10° angulation. Four patients had valgus and three patients varus
deformity, and all of them were in the
plate fixation group (p=0.484; p=0.977).
Four patients had recurvatum deformity.
One of them was treated by intramedullary nailing and three by plate fixation
(p=0.450). Three patients had procurvatum deformity. One of these patients
was treated by intramedullary nailing and
two by plate fixation (0.846). One patient had multiplanar deformity and was
treated by plate fixation because it was
an isolated tibia fracture.
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Yavuz et al. Comparison of intramedullary nail and plate fixation in distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the mortise
In 21 patients, the implants were extracted. Seven of these
were intramedullary nails and 14 were plates and screws.
One of the extractions was performed due to infection. Ten
of the patients who were treated by intramedullary nailing
had anterior knee pain. Implant irritation occurred in three of
the patients treated by plate fixation.
DISCUSSION
Tibial fractures are seen often, and successful results may
be achieved with various surgical techniques.[1-3,9] Distal
tibia fractures are much more problematic because of the
surrounding soft tissues being thinner than the proximal tissues and the poor vascularization.[9-13] Furthermore, in these
patients, knee and ankle pain is observed more.[4,5] Our aim
was to compare the results of intramedullary nailing and plate
fixation techniques in the treatment of distal tibia fractures
close to the joint.
In the previous studies, it was reported that 47.4% of the patients treated by intramedullary nailing had anterior knee pain.
[4,5,14,15]
As the etiology is not obviously clear, it is suggested
that anterior knee pain may be due to patellar tendon and retropatellar fat pad damage. On the contrary, in another study
comparing the parapatellar approach and the transtendinous
approach, no difference with regard to anterior knee pain was
reported.[18] We used a transpatellar approach in all our patients. In our study, anterior knee pain was in acceptable limits
according to the literature, and pain did not affect life or working quality in any of our patients. We suggest that protection
of the patellar tendon, appropriate nail length, and correct nail
entry point were essential for decreasing the complaints.
Three patients who were treated by plate fixation had AOFAS scores of ≤70. In the literature, the requirement for
secondary surgery in patients treated by plate fixation was
reported as 20%, whereas this ratio was reported as 42% in
patients treated by intramedullary nailing. In our study, three
of our patients required secondary surgery. All of them were
in the plate fixation group and had been treated with open
reduction. When the results were evaluated, our study also
verifies that protecting surrounding soft tissues and ensuring
vascularization of the fracture site decrease both the infection risk and the need for secondary surgery.[27,29]
Malalignment, which may occur after the treatment of fractures in close proximity to joints, may present with pain in
the early postoperative period, and then as arthritis in the
late phase because it disrupts the weight distribution of the
joint. In patients with more than 5° of malalignment, it is
observed that the complaints and degeneration in the ankle
are increased,[30] and this is suggested to be the result of increased contact at any point of the ankle joint.[30-33] We used
the AOFAS scale in order to clinically evaluate the consistent
ankle pain and early osteoarthritis in our cases. When the
scores of the intramedullary nailing and plate fixation groups
192
were compared, a statistical significance was found, and the
results were good or perfect. When the above-mentioned
results were evaluated, it was determined that malalignment
up to 10° may be tolerated by the patients, and there was no
significant radiological difference between the groups.
Surgical reduction of a fibular fracture accompanying a distal tibia fracture is a related subject. Fibular fixation must be
done if syndesmosis tear is present,[1,34] and it is suggested
that it may facilitate indirect reduction of the tibia fracture.
However, in some studies,[3,34,35] fibular fixation is said to delay bone healing. We did not use fibular fixation except for
displaced distal fibular fractures, which may cause valgus deformity. Whether fibular fixation was done or not, no significant difference was found with regard to bone healing, valgus
deformity and AOFAS scores.
When the radiological and functional results were compared
in the intramedullary nailing and plate fixation groups, both
groups were found to have satisfying results. Evaluation of
cost efficiency showed us that, as costs may differ between
countries, intramedullary nailing was approximately 30%
(range, 0-80%) less expensive. We think that intramedullary
nailing instead of minimally invasive plate fixation, in some
patients and with proper indication, may be useful in reducing
health expenses.
Our study shows that intramedullary nailing in distal tibia diaphyseal fractures close to the ankle joint has no negative
effect on malalignment and stability, and it also ensures more
minimally invasive surgery, results in fewer wound problems,
aids in earlier mobilization, and is more economical. We thus
believe that intramedullary nailing should be considered in
the treatment of this kind of fracture.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
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KLİNİK ÇALIŞMA - ÖZET
OLGU SUNUMU
Mortise yakın distal tibia diafiz kırıklarının tedavisinde
intramedüller çivi ve plak tedavisinin karşılaştırılması
Dr. Umut Yavuz, Dr. Sami Sökücü, Dr. Bilal Demir, Dr. Timur Yıldırım, Dr. Çağrı Özcan, Dr. Yavuz Selim Kabukçuoğlu
Baltalimanı Kemik Hastalıkları Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Kliniği, İstanbul
AMAÇ: Bu çalışmada ayak bileği eklemine (mortis) yakın distal tibia diafiz kırıklarının tedavisinde intramedüller çivi veya plak tedavisinin fonksiyonel ve
radyolojik sonuçlarını karşılaştırmayı amaçladık.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM: 2005-2011 yılları arasında intramedüller çivi (21 hasta) veya plak (34 hasta) ile tedavi edilen 55 hasta (32 erkek, 23 kadın; ortalama yaş 42; dağılım 15-72 yıl) çalışmaya alındı. Ortalama takip süresi 27.6 ay (dağılım 12-82 ay) idi. Hastalar kaynamama (nonunion), yanlış kaynama
(malunion), enfeksiyon, implant irrtasyonu ve klinik açıdan AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) skoru ile değerlendirildi.
BULGULAR: Kırığın ekleme uzaklığı, kaynama zamanı, AOFAS skoru, ilave fibula kırığı, malunion, materyal irritasyonu açısından istatistiksel fark gözlenmedi. Hastaların dokuz tanesinde açık kırık mevcuttu ve bu hastalar plak ile tedavi edilmişti (p=0.100). Plak ile tedavi edilen üç hastada kaynamama
gelişti. Bir hastada enfeksiyon gelişti. Diz önü ağrısı çivi yapılan hastalarda istatistiksel olarak fazla idi. <10° malunion gelişen hastamız yoktu. Çivi veya
plak uygulanan hastalar arasında minimal malunion (13 hasta) açısından karşılaştırıldığında fark yoktu.
TARTIŞMA: Distal tibia diafiz kırıklarının tedavisinde distal parça kısa olduğu için genellikle plak tercih edilmektedir. Çalışmamızda cerrahi kurallara dikkat
edildiğinde çivi tedavisinin malunionu artırmadığı bununla birlikte kapalı cerrahi ve daha az yara yeri problemi nedeniyle avantajları olduğunu gördük.
Anahtar sözcükler: AOFAS; çivi; distal tibia kırığı; plak; sonuçlar.
Ulus Travma Acil Cerrahi Derg 2014;20(3):189-193
doi: 10.5505/tjtes.2014.92972
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